Trump's Economic Era

On January 20, 2017, the country inaugurated Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States, and a new political order took shape. The Trump presidency represents an about-face from a Globalist vision to nationalism; it set a populist tone as he pledged to be the agent of change against a ruling class. He reshaped what it means to be a Republican, leaving old time Republicans scrambling to find their footing in this new age of politics. Mr. Trump came into office with a weakened America less able to lead the world internationally. Donald Trump won the presidency largely because so many Americans believed that America was on the wrong track. The new ideological struggle worldwide is not between Left and Right, Liberal or Conservative; it is between Globalists and Patriots. Whereas the Globalists want to break down all national boundaries, Patriots are determined to preserve the nation state, to have clear-cut borders between countries. The election of Donald Trump was not whether the government should be smaller but whether the nation-state still mattered. In years to come, we will witness the dissolvent of the European Union. This nationalist movement has startled established parties because they fail to recognize globalism as an ideology. However, globalism is an ideology, and its struggle with nationalism will shape the Trump Era as the conflict between Conservatives and Liberals shaped the last era. In the Trump era, there will be a resurgence of national leaders reasserting control over their countries. Their targets are global structures, not countries. The contest will be between nation-states and global organizations like the World Trade Organization, NATO, the United Nations, the North American Trade Agreement, and the World Bank. The common thread that binds members of the nationalist movement is antipathy toward globalism. Cultural concerns drive the nationalist movement more than economic concerns. The backlash against globalism is both cultural and economic. The difference between globalization and the free trade movement is that persons who believe in free trade also favor the independence of national economies. Whereas Globalists want to dismantle international borders, they favor open borders because they have a one-world concept. Globalization is not necessarily a free trade movement. Donald Trump supports fair trade. Globalists, on the other hand, favor abandoning national boundaries.